Every required commuter railroad is now Positive Train Control (PTC) certified by FRA and has met the Dec. 31, 2020 implementation deadline set by Congress, according to APTA. PTC is a complex signaling and communications technology that provides critical safety redundancies to already safe commuter rail services.

 

The Moynihan Train Hall, a 255,000-square-foot facility in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, is now open, transforming the more than 100-year-old James A. Farley Building into a hub that increases the Penn Station rail complex’s concourse space by 50 percent. The hall is named for former U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

 

USDOT Secretary Elaine L. Chao has announced her resignation, effective Jan. 11, in response to the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, an event she described as “traumatic and entirely avoidable.” She said, “It has deeply troubled me in a way that I simply cannot set aside.” Chao has served as secretary since Jan. 2017. On Dec. 15, APTA congratulated Mayor Pete Buttigieg on his nomination as secretary of transportation and pledged to work with him.

 

APTA has appointed T.J. Doyle as interim vice president, communications & marketing department. He succeeds Rosemary Sheridan, who held the position for nearly 23 years and who recently retired.

 

Doyle joined APTA in July 2019 as director of advocacy communications, following 20 years in association communications and marketing.

 

The California Transit Association (CTA), Sacramento, has named Michael Pimentel as executive director, following the resignation of Joshua W. Shaw. Shaw, who has served as executive director since 1999, will continue to support the association as senior counselor for policy & education.

 

The Sangamon Mass Transit District (SMTD), Springfield, IL, Board of Trustees has named Deputy Managing Director Steve Schoeffel as managing director. Schoeffel takes over following the retirement of Frank Squires, who has managed the agency since 2012.